How popular is the baby name Raiden in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Raiden.

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Popularity of the baby name Raiden


Posts that mention the name Raiden

Baby names from video games: Raiden, Kain, Rinoa, Kairi

Dr. Cleveland Evans isn’t a gamer. Nevertheless, he recently wrote an insightful article for The Omaha World-Herald about baby names that have been inspired by video game characters, such as:

  • Kain, a male character from the Legacy of Kain series.
  • Rinoa, a female character from Final Fantasy VIII.
  • Kairi, a female character from Kingdom Hearts.
  • Raiden, a male character from Mortal Kombat.

I’ve seen Raiden used as a baby name several times. Too bad it’s impossible to tell which Raidens were named after the character and which were simply given a variant of Aidan, or Jayden, or Caden…

Have you met any babies with these names before? If so, do you know if their parents are gamers?

The next big “-den” name: Bladen, Dreyden, Graden, Payden

Jayden, Aidan, Caden, Braden and Hayden (and their many variants) are well-established on the list of the top U.S. baby names. Zayden and Raiden have joined the rankings recently as well.

Which “-den” name will be next to pop up on the list?

Well, the Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, Oregon welcomed a baby Graden on April 5 and a baby Dreyden on May 2. Benefis Healthcare in Great Falls, Montana welcomed a baby Bladen on May 22 and a baby Payden on March 11. Those are some possibilities. And I wouldn’t be too surprised to see a Sladen, Tayden or Treyden on the list, either.

It’s likely that Xayden will show up at some point, but I’m not sure it should count as an entirely new “-den” name. (If you pronounce the X like a Z, it’s a variant of Zayden; if you pronounce the Z like an H, it’s a variant of Hayden.)

So which “-den” would you put your money on? Why?

Update: Just spotted a Blayden, born on May 6th at St. Joseph Hospital in Washington state.

Popular baby names in the United States, 2007

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

The most popular baby names in the U.S. were updated yesterday!

Here are the new top 25 girl names and boys names. The positive and negative numbers indicate how a name has risen or fallen in rank since 2006.

Girl Names

  1. Emily (0)
  2. Isabella (+2)
  3. Emma (-1)
  4. Ava (+1)
  5. Madison (-2)
  6. Sophia (+3)
  7. Olivia (0)
  8. Abigail (-2)
  9. Hannah (-1)
  10. Elizabeth (+1)
  11. Addison (+17)
  12. Samantha (-2)
  13. Ashley (-1)
  14. Alyssa (+5)
  15. Mia (-2)
  16. Chloe (+2)
  17. Natalie (0)
  18. Sarah (-3)
  19. Alexis (-5)
  20. Grace (-4)
  21. Ella (0)
  22. Brianna (-2)
  23. Hailey (+2)
  24. Taylor (-1)
  25. Anna (-3)

Boy Names

  1. Jacob (0)
  2. Michael (0)
  3. Ethan (+1)
  4. Joshua (-1)
  5. Daniel (+1)
  6. Christopher (+1)
  7. Anthony (+2)
  8. William (+2)
  9. Matthew (-4)
  10. Andrew (-2)
  11. Alexander (+1)
  12. David (+1)
  13. Joseph (-2)
  14. Noah (+1)
  15. James (+1)
  16. Ryan (-2)
  17. Logan (+2)
  18. Jayden (+31)
  19. John (+1)
  20. Nicholas (-3)
  21. Tyler (-3)
  22. Christian (-1)
  23. Jonathan (-1)
  24. Nathan (-1)
  25. Samuel (0)

The biggest jump on the boys’ list was Jayden — 31 spots (!), from 49th to 18th. The number of baby boys named Jayden rose from 9,550 (0.44%) in 2006 to 15,025 (0.69%) in 2007.

The biggest jump on the girls’ list was Addison — 17 spots, from 28th to 11th. The number of baby girls named Addison increased from 7,599 (0.37%) in 2006 to 11,823 (0.57%) in 2007.

Here’s more from the SSA’s news release:

Although “American Idol’s” Sanjaya did not influence this year’s list, other young celebrities influenced the naming of American children. The 2007 success of popular race car driver Danica Patrick undoubtedly inspired her first name moving from number 352 to number 307. Similarly, the name of the first pick in the 2007 NFL draft, Oakland Raiders’ quarterback JaMarcus Russell, rose from number 914 to number 743 on the boys’ list.

Shiloh, the youngest daughter of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, debuted on the list at number 804. Maddox, the name of their oldest child, has seen steady gains since first appearing on the list in 2003 at number 583 and now ranking at number 226. Suri, the name of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ daughter, did not make the list. But Britney Spears’ second son is named Jayden, which ranked at number 18. Miley is new to the girls’ list this year, entering fairly high at number 278, attributable to the popularity of teen sensation Miley Cyrus.

For reasons likely to puzzle baby name experts around the world, American parents have become infatuated by names, particularly for their sons, that rhyme with the word “maiden.” These names for boys include: Jayden (No. 18); Aiden (No. 27); Aidan (No. 54); Jaden (No. 76); Caden (No. 92); Kaden (No. 98); Ayden (No.102); Braden (No.156); Cayden (No.175); Jaiden (No.191); Kaiden (No. 220); Aden (No. 264); Caiden (No. 286); Braeden (No. 325); Braydon (No. 361); Jaydon (No. 415); Jadon (No. 423); Braiden (No. 529); Zayden (No. 588); Jaeden (No. 593); Aydan (No. 598); Bradyn (No. 629); Kadin (No. 657); Jadyn (No. 696); Kaeden (No. 701); Jaydin (No. 757); Braedon (No. 805); Aidyn (No. 818); Haiden (No. 820); Jaidyn (No. 841); Kadyn (No. 878); Jaydan (No. 887); Raiden (No. 931); and Adin (No. 983).  This startling trend was present, but less pronounced, with girls names:  Jayden (No. 172); Jadyn (No. 319); Jaden (No. 335); Jaiden (No. 429); Kayden (No. 507); and Jaidyn (No. 561). Social Security spokesman Mark Lassiter indicated that the agency would resist any legislative efforts to standardize the spelling of these names.

Experts also may be surprised by the extent to which American parents are naming their daughters after spiritual and philosophical concepts. One of the most popular names for girls (rising this year to number 31) is Nevaeh, which is “Heaven” spelled backwards. The variant Neveah came in this year at number 891 and Heaven is number 263. Also represented were:  Destiny (No. 41); Trinity (No. 72); Serenity (No. 126); Harmony (No. 315); Miracle (No. 461); Charity (No. 673); Journey (No. 692); Destini (No. 914); and Essence (No. 930). Cutting against this trend was Armani (No. 971). 

American parents were far less likely to name their sons in this way, although the 2007 boys’ list does include Sincere (No. 622) and Messiah (No. 723).

Sources: SSA, Pop Culture Makes Mark on Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names List – SSA

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United States (public domain)